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length of a line

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Length of a line 1999-10-10
From Dagmara Sarudi:
My question has to do with the length of a diagonal. This problem came up when I thought about the shortest distance between two points, for example walking from one point to another in my neighborhood. I can choose a zig zag route and assuming the blocks I walk are exactly the same length, it shouldn't matter what route I took, the distance I travel should still be the same when I reached my goal. If, on the other hand I could travel in a diagonal line, the distance would be shorter. But what if, in my zig zag motion, the sections get so small the route approaches a diagonal. Shouldn't it be that each separate section added together equals the value of the two original sides? Or would it suddenly equal the value of the diagonal (which, of course was shorter than the two sides added together)?
What gives?


Answered by Chris Fisher and Harley Weston.

 
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